Portuguese hygiene-products group Ghost has proposed investing about EUR 200m (USD 224m) to restart pulp production at Fibre Excellence's Saint-Gaudens mill in southern France and build a 50,000 sqm hygiene-products plant, but filed no formal rescue bid before the Toulouse commercial court's 22 October deadline. According to the French press, Ghost needs at least six more months to finalise its plan, which makes judicial liquidation likely; about 250 jobs are at risk and the court has a hearing set for 3 November.
Why this mattersLiquidation would end one of France's last pulp production sites, leaving French paper and tissue makers more dependent on pulp from elsewhere.
- Ghost plans to invest about EUR 200m (USD 224m) to restart pulp production and build a 50,000 sqm hygiene-products plant at Saint-Gaudens
- The Toulouse commercial court's deadline for formal rescue proposals expired on 22 October 2026 without a bid from Ghost
- Three documents were filed instead: from the Occitanie region, the French state and Ghost reiterating its interest
- Ghost reportedly needs at least six more months to complete its industrial and financial plan
- Saint-Gaudens employs between 244 and 270 workers and is one of France's last pulp production sites
- The Toulouse commercial court has a hearing set for 3 November 2026
The Toulouse Commercial Court granted Fibre Excellence's Saint-Gaudens pulp mill a further three months on 15 September, extending its operating deadline to 15 December while a new takeover proposal worth an estimated EUR 90m is finalised. At the group's liquidated Tarascon site, the French government has authorised the ecological transition agency ADEME to carry out emergency safety work after inspectors found around 17,000 tonnes of wood and hazardous materials still on site, with costs to be charged to the liquidators.
Why this mattersThe diverging fates of the two mills show how restructuring can either preserve pulp capacity through fresh industrial investment or end in liquidation with public bodies forced to manage residual safety and environmental risk.
- Toulouse Commercial Court extended Saint-Gaudens' operating deadline to 15 December on 15 September
- Potential buyers must submit a new takeover proposal by 22 October, with a court hearing set for 3 November
- The Saint-Gaudens project envisages an estimated EUR 90m investment package, with Soprema among the industrial investors
- French state will provide a EUR 2m loan via Bpifrance to fund operations through 30 September; Occitanie region will contribute EUR 3.5m for October to mid-December
- Fibre Excellence Provence in Tarascon was placed into judicial liquidation on 29 July
- A 15 September inspection found around 17,000 tonnes of wood plus hazardous products still present at the Tarascon site, prompting ADEME to take over emergency safety work
- EUR 2m loan under the Economic and Social Development Fund (FDES) formalised by decree published 20 September 2026, extending operations to 15 December 2026
- Rescue consortium for Saint-Gaudens now identified as including insulation maker Soprema and a Portuguese paper manufacturer
- Saint-Gaudens produces about 280,000 tonnes of paper pulp a year and employs 244 people
